Pending Home Sales Rise 6.3 Percent

Is this the light at the end of the tunnel in the housing market?

The good news on the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said that pending home sales rose 6.3 percent in December form a month earlier, the strongest gains were in the South and Midwest of the United States.  The number of pending sales year over year was down 9.5 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.

The bad news on the housing market.

The Commerce Department  reported that new home sales in December feel to an annual rate of 331,000, the lowest point on record.

The National Association of Realtors also reported the median home price in December 2008 was $175,000, down more then 15 percent from $207,000 in December 2007 and at its lowest point since May of 2003.